The Roper

The Roper is a role in The Con. The roper moves The Mark into The Tale, frequently by being an attractive woman. The roper can have a mark lined up, but not have The Tale to tell, so is needing to find a Con Man, or can be dispatched by the Con Man to bring in a specific target.

Is not related to the Dungeons & Dragons monster, nor to the landlords from Three's Company.

Examples of The Roper include:

Film

• Bloom in The Brothers Bloom is a male example.

Live Action TV

• On Hustle, this role is fulfilled by Robert Vaughan's character, Albert Stroller.
  • And, relatedly, Jess on The Real Hustle
• Sophie generally takes this role on Leverage.

Video Games

• In Suikoden IV, a male 'victim' tries to convince the mark to challenge a Cute Bruiser with a BFS. Somewhat ironically, he turns out to be your Personal Trainer once recruited.